so i was getting weird symptoms. the upper port in my macbook air stopped working, my hp laptop 65w charger stopped outputting voltage. i power-cycled the macbook, unplugged the charger, and it took several unplug attempts before it would output voltage again. i blew out the ports with a gas duster and thought it was back to normal.
today it stopped working again. blowing out the ports didn't work. i'd get intermittent charging in some orientations with my Pixel 4a charger, and no charging at all with my 65w. sometimes my usb-c power meter (mine works for most but not all devices, but blocks adjacent ports!) would register 5v entering the macbook rather than 20.
coincidentally my new android phone arrived today, i had to connect it to root it. ...yeah the bad usb port doesn't connect to pixel phone either. i realized it was likely my port was physically damaged, and it was time to disassemble to look.
apple self-service, manual codes when purchasing parts (you really should link to the specific device rather than making me trawl the list!)...
https://www.ifixit.com/News/59239/apples-self-repair-vision-is-here-and-its-got-a-catch
- it seems to be part of some sort of scheme where you're not allowed to purchase parts without having a specific laptop's serial number, because Apple want to restrict supply of replacement parts?
microscope (you get what you pay for)... good god, this shit's cooked... fried like an egg
"hmm, these two pins are shorted, i wonder if i can separate them" pin lifts straight off board "guess i will be buying a new usb board"
now what useless shit do i add...
ugh... the board is $14, each screw is $5, and i need $20 to save $9 in shipping if i order 1 screw it's $19 + $9, if i order 2 screws it's $24, and if i pay shipping it's $23
in the meantime i plugged the bad port with blu tack.
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write about reinstallation?
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at least the service manuals were pleasantly readable in comparison with ..., but they indicate screw part numbers (under the assumption that official Apple tech will not be reusing screws?) rather than lengths/descriptors, so i didn't know which screw to put in the hinge edge vs. corner of the laptop.
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and i was surprised usb was on a daughterboard; if i had to resolder the ports i would not have tried.
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please watch your cables, and be careful with usb dongles because they can apply vertical strain and wreck your ports. (even though the mba's entire usb-c port is surrounded by solid cnc aluminum, it seems the plug still folds inwards and crushes the port's center tongue.)